How the EU subsidies scam scheme worked: kickbacks, false declarations

Revelations regarding the fraud scandal with EU subsidies for farmers and breeders are now daily, exposing how well-established and “institutional” the fraud mechanism was set up with the involvement of citizens who were not occupied in the sector, OPEKEPE and agency employees, intermediaries, but also politicians who sought favors and conveniences for their voters.

Sources citing the lengthy case file of the European Prosecutor publish excerpts from wiretapped phone dialogues between high-ranking officials and local ruling party officials who often mention names of still active ministers when they speak to each other.

“The phone excerpts reveal immense pressure, blackmails and even life threats,” Skai TV commented.

Among others it has been revealed that relatives of politicians and other local and non-local officials would cash subsidies of several thousands euros every year.

Kickbacks up to 80% of the subsidy

Intermediates would receive the majority of the funds, while the citizens involved in the scam would take just a 20% of the total subsidy on annual basis.

The starting fee or better say the kickback for the illegal subsidy including the declaration of pasture, number of animals or agriculture land was according to Mega TV:

– 60%: for a subsidy up to €5,000/year
– 70%: €5,000 – €15,000/year
– 80%: €15,000+

#ΟΠΕΚΕΠΕ: Η μίζα για τη «μαϊμού» επιδότηση.
Η ταρίφα για την υποδοχή μιας δήλωσης με τη μίζα να αρχίζει από:

– 60%: για επιδότηση έως 5.000€/έτος
– 70%: 5.000€ – 15.000€/έτος
– 80%: 15.000€+#κυβερνηση_Μητσοτακη #Μητσοτάκης #Βοριδης #Αυγενάκης #Χασαπης #φραπες #νδ pic.twitter.com/1tiGwQUazg

— antonis kelaidonis (@antonkelaidon) July 1, 2025

Media revealed that the payments would be via ATM and the intermediate would accompany the receiver to the bank and immediately take his share.

The “fee” would be then distributed to all those state, OPEKEPE and who knows who involved in the scam.

While the Mitsotakis government pleads to get back the “false” subsidies it is a big question how to retrieve the whole amount of the scam worth some 300 million euros if the last link of the long fraud chain will not reveal who was the intermediate who received the majority of the subsidy and to submit proof of what happened.

Something impossible!

“Party” with thousands of euros in illegal subsidies

More and more complaints and revelations about the OPEKEPE scandal are coming to light as it seems that the “party” was being held with subsidies worth thousands of euros going to people who declared acres in other places up to acres that were cultivating hashish plantations, daily ethnos.gr reported..

“They were taking hundreds of thousands of euros for olives trees inside an airport,” a farmer from Larissa, complained adding that the wife of a former president of OPEKEPE had declared that she was renting acres for growing olive trees inside an Air Force airport, receiving thousands of euros in subsidies.

“In 2019, 2,600 olive trees were rented from the Air Force Equity Fund to the 112th Combat Wing, in Elefsina, on an area of ​​600 acres. Inside the airport!” the farmer said.

“It is alleged that the wife of a former vice president of OPEKEPE rented them,” he added emphasizing that “since 2019 she received a subsidy of 120,000 euros every year.”

Indeed, the private individual received the subsidies for the olive trees she rented from the Air Force Equity Fund and which are located at the Elefsina military airport until 2023!

They go for checks and they are shot

The president of the Athens Police, Demosthenis Pakos, also made an incredible complaint regarding the OPEKEPE scandal.

He mentioned that there were suspicions that in Crete they were receiving subsidies from European funds also for hashish plantations. He stressed that it is known that there are people in certain areas who are involved in drug trafficking and when the police go for checks, they are being shot.

“They should be checked to see if they were receiving subsidies and had hashish plantations. I cannot go after him and put him in and they should be receiving subsidies,” Pakos told Skai TV.

Lawyer Stavroula Antigoni Prili pointed out that regarding the OPEKEPE scandal, the family members of those who were receiving subsidies should also be checked.

She even noted that there are allegations that the intermediaries who arranged the illegal subsidies went with the alleged beneficiaries who received the money and as soon as they disbursed it, they were given a kickback.

Crete turned ND with the help of scam

It should be recalled that the majority of those involved is based on the island of Crete with a population that traditionally was voting for socialist PASOK. Until the illegal subsidies turned the island New-Cemocracy-Blue in the last elections.

However, not all of the Cretan farmers and breeders have been involved in the scam and are now outrageous about the illegal practices and the money the “gangs” received.

A local official who was reportedly mentioned in the case file as one of those involved in the scam called to media to stop publishing phone excerpts claiming “vendettas” could break out on the island between those who got the subsidies and those who did not.

Worth noting is the unprecedented number of sheep and goats on the island in the last 5 years who grew – on the scam declarations – to 8 million (!) living hardly space for locals and tourists to live.

Number of sheep and goats without Crete (orange line), in Crete (blue line)

Fake tax number for non-existing farmers

Farmer Christos Sidiropoulos reported in Mega TV, private companies fabricated tax IDs and non-existent farmers in order to receive subsidies.

“They had fake documents, fabricated tax IDs and farmers who collected money that should have been directed to young farmers and livestock breeders from 2017 onwards,” he said.

“When in 2017 the amendment came that said that you can declare 2,000 acres of pasture in Grammos and Vitsi without having any animals, then the Aeolian bag opened.”

A man with nickname “Tasos the Merciful” was the one who arranged what the 700,000 tax IDs of farmers would receive.

Some powerful local on Crete were known with nicknames “Frape” and “Butcher”.

“Party” with fake declarations for subsidies continues despite investigation

However, despite the revelations, the party continues. As Dimitris Kapounis, president of the Agricultural Cooperatives of Naxos, revealed on OPEN TV, “we have been registering applications for 10 days, until the end of the month. So, we found out that while a grandfather came to declare an olive farm, someone else had declared it. We started looking, a second one came, we also had a phone call that some uncle had gone to declare, etc., so we went inside and saw that about 200 acres of olive trees had been declared in Naxos in the first two days. Yesterday at noon, we found that about 1,500 acres of olive trees had been declared from other areas in Naxos. In other words, the party, despite what has been done, continues. They declare them online to get a subsidy.”

There are also complains for fake registrations of thousands of acres around Lake Karla in northern Greece, for the cultivation of tomatoes – that have never being cultivated in the area. A true scam like the subsidy for growing of bananas on Mt Olympus!

Scam investigation shakes Mitsotakis government 

The political thermometer has risen to unprecedented heights in recent days, with the OPEKEPE scandal causing tremors in the government, at the same time that the opposition is about to submit a proposal to establish an investigation, calling for exemplary punishment for those involved.

It will be a real challenge for the government to persuade the Greek voters that PM MItsotakis was unaware of what was going on.

the OPEKEPE scandal has massivley angered especially small farmers and breeders who often go with empty hands or a bag of peanuts when it comes to subsidies and are forced to sell their flocks or fields as they cannot afford to continue.

For the last two days, media rumor that a second case file is being prepared by the European prosecutor where the names of some 40 lawmakers will be mentioned as involved in the subsidies scam.

See more on OPEKEPE scandal on KTG HERE and on Greek media HERE.